Ukrainian forces have successfully advanced south of the recently liberated village of Urozhaine, Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Aug. 17.
The units are now fortifying the territories they have retaken, the military wrote in its daily update on Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Kyiv announced the liberation of Urozhaine the day before. The settlement lies in the southwestern part of Donetsk Oblast, east of Staromaiorske, which Ukraine took back in late July.
Francis Farrell
According to the General Staff, Ukrainian forces are also on the offensive south of Bakhmut, the town Russia occupied in May after months of a bloody battle.
Russian forces attempted unsuccessful assaults near Synkivka around 15 kilometers from Kupiansk and Bohdanivka west of Bakhmut, reads the Aug. 17 report.
Russia also reportedly failed to advance in the areas of Marinka and Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, suffering significant losses.
Ukraine’s military added that it kept holding back Russian offensive operations in the Lyman and Kupiansk directions, as well as on Bakhmut’s northern flank.
On Aug. 10, local authorities began a mandatory evacuation of civilians from the Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast, where Moscow is reportedly trying to recapture the territories lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive last autumn.
Igor Kossov
